Hutton is Here!

Hutton James Howard was born on June 3, 2010 at 1:50pm! He was 8lbs, 4oz and 20 1/2 inches long...Needless to say he was a good size! Craig and I feel extremely blessed to have a beautiful, healthy baby boy and have been overwhelmed with gratitude for this incredible bundle of joy!

We were scheduled to be induced at 4:00am on June 3rd and the delivery ended up being quick and almost effortless! The nurse started Pitocin in my IV at 5:25am to get the contractions going. Over the next few hours Craig and I rested and watched movies! By 9:00am my contractions were coming often and a lot more intense. My doctor arrived at 9:30am to break my water. It was at this time that I received my epidural as well! It was perfect timing because I don't think I could have handled more intense contractions! (I'm a wuss!)

Once the epidural set in, I could feel no pain. It was glorious. So wonderful in fact that I was able to take a 30 minute nap! The nurse came in to check my status and in that 30 minutes, I went from being dilated 3cm to 7cm!! Whoo hoo! In the next half hour, I went to 9 1/2cm! The nurse called my doctor who had gone back to her office to see a couple of patients. She told my nurse to have me start pushing, anticipating it would take at least an hour due to the fact that he was my first baby and that he was large. So we started pushing and Hutton started sliding right out! When my nurse realized how quickly he was coming, she ran to page my doctor. The doctor said to stop pushing and that she'd rush right over.

Hutton did not want to wait on the doctor. Each time I would contract he would slide a little bit more, without any pushing on my part. My nurse literally had to push him back in and hold my knees together! This definitely made Craig and I anxious! So we just sat and all looked at each other as we waiting the doctor to arrive. Finally, she comes sprinting in the room, put on her gear, and within minutes Hutton was here. A total of 15 minutes of pushing!!

Seeing his face for the first time was one of those moments that I will never forget. Craig and I were overwhelmed with emotion. I couldn't believe that after 10 months of anxiously waiting, Hutton was finally here! He was absolutely perfect and I loved him more than I ever thought possible!

We have been so blessed to have our families visit and take care of us. I couldn't have done this without them. Nana, AKA my mom, has cleaned, cooked, and helped during late night feedings! Seriously, where would I be without her? It makes me sad to know she and Aunt LaLa are leaving in only a few short days!

Thank you so much for all of your love and support! We are so excited to be parents and look forward to watching our son grow over the years! Please continue praying as we begin this journey of learning...Lord knows we don't have a clue of what we're doing! Here are a few pictures of our sweet baby boy!